


Pendant Ce Temps

by PinstripesAndConverse



Category: City of Love: Paris (Visual Novel), Ubisoft City of Love: Paris
Genre: F/M, Major Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers for S2E9 and S2E10, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 11:17:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12167802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinstripesAndConverse/pseuds/PinstripesAndConverse
Summary: The MC makes a phone call as she traverses the flooded streets of Paris on her way to find the notes her best friend left behind.  Spoilers for S2 Episodes 9 & 10, continues threads from slight running AU of previous one-shots.  Vincent x MC





	Pendant Ce Temps

**Author's Note:**

> Title translates to "In the Meanwhile"; this takes place between the MC escaping prison and making her way to Sarah to get Kat's notes.

She trudged through the water, thankful she had been sensible enough to wear boots today.  They were probably ruined, when she considered that she felt water in them, her socks soaked.  Her jeans were chafing at her knees from the damp, rough fabric as she walked, the streets deserted; the grey sky was ominous and she hoped it wouldn't start raining.   
  
Leo had left her be, understanding that there was something to this, something she needed to see through.   
  
She just wished she wasn't so damn far from Sarah.   
  
She took her phone from her back pocket, recording a video of the city and taking a few shots (she would need them if she ever wrote about this, and she most certainly would) before she scrolled through her contacts. Her phone was in a waterproof, shockproof case, but one misstep and she'd be face-first in a rising flood.   
  
She found the number she wanted.  They'd only seem each other less than twelve hours ago and yet so much had happened since then.   
  
The line rang, which was a good sign.  Meant it wasn't dead, meant there was service.   
  
"Eugene, I thought I told you-". There was a clatter in the background, some barking.  Vincent cursed in French and the barking got louder.   
  
"Ah, not Eugene."  She raised her knees high as the water got deeper as she pushed on.   
  
"Ms. (L/n)?” He sounded genuinely surprised to hear from her, as if he half-expected her to forget what just transpired between them.

_ Had _ something transpired between them earlier that morning?  She thought so.  Something they were overdue for since that night in the catacombs.  The question was, did he think so?

"I take it you're..."   
  
"Surviving, yes.  You?”

“Trudging my way to Sarah to get Kat’s notes.  Jail is still ugly as ever, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t, but I'm saving the question as how you ended up there-” he sounded distant for a moment, his voice strained as she heard the sound of...something heavy scraping the floor.  “-for when my city isn't  _ flooding _ .”

“Where  _ are _ you?”

“I made the mistake of returning to my lab to check something and finally made it back to my penthouse.  Whoever did this is going to pay.  Esteban doesn't fare well with water, and he's terrified.  They certainly at least owe me a new bloody suit.”  The protective tone in his voice was touching, even if it was tinged with a contained anger; nothing like the rage Marion had incited in him.  “Hopefully your cat is faring better.”

“I hope so too,” she whispered.  

“Ah,  _ finally _ ,” she heard him say, and she caught a clipped conversation with Eugene briefly before he returned to the phone.  “I have to put you on speaker, unfortunately; I apologize for any background noise.”

She heard soft whining in the background, Esteban clearly still troubled from his encounter with the flood.  “I can let you go, if you have other things you to do.  I’m just trying to get a headcount of who’s where.”

“And you're sure it's  _ nothing  _ to do with those bruises and bite marks you no doubt still have?”  She heard a soft clattering, possibly wood, a rustle, the smooth sound fabric running on fabric.

_ Is he  _ changing  _ while on the phone with me?! _

“For me to know and for you to...ponder about.” She replied, her tone speculative as she paused in her tracks, catching sight of someone attempting to canoe the streets.

He chuckled, a deeper, slightly darker sound than his usual amused laugh.  She was glad they weren't face to face, because that sound did  _ something  _ to her stomach that she had never experienced before and she had no doubt it showed on her face.

“Ponder, I shall, (f/n).”

Her stomach knotted further at the way he said her name.  

She heard whining in the background, Esteban clearly distressed about recent events.  The sound broke her heart further than it already was, only matched by the sound of rushing water around her.  Her home was flooding and  _ someone else _ was working with Kat to cause it, which meant  _ Kat was part of something bigger _ .

“Why were you in your lab?” She asked.

“For me to know and for you to ponder about.” He immediately replied without skipping a beat, amusement dancing in his words.

“Touché.” 

She heard an odd clatter and assumed he had put his phone down.

“I did notice the flooding is uneven,” Vincent said, his voice distant but clear; his phone was away from him, then.  “The water source isn't the Seine, but elsewhere.  So parts of Paris won't be affected until the river itself floods.  Not that it buys much time.”  

“It might be enough, depending on where the floodgates are.”

The whining got softer, but still audible; she could only assume his phone was near Esteban, the poor baby, but he seemed to be a little less distressed for the moment.

“Is he okay, Vincent?”

“He can deal with his baths but otherwise he's very much like a cat in his feelings towards water. Doesn't help that we were caught in the initial surge.”

More whining, louder again; she heard Vincent drop his voice and speak softly to Esteban in French, but even that couldn't seem to ease the pug’s anxiety.  

“I can let you go, Vincent, he needs your attention, and I should probably focus on not tripping,” she said, looking around for a moment to get her bearings again.  She knew the streets by heart but she knew them  _ unflooded _ and  _ filled with people _ .  

She didn't realize that Esteban had stopped whining when she spoke, only starting again when there was silence.  Vincent gave an amused laugh and she could picture his smirk in her mind as he spoke.

“It seems your voice is the only sound he’ll calm down for.”

“But he’s never met me. Most dogs aren’t attuned to voices over phones and ignore it.”

“Consider it an honor; he’s quite picky with humans as it is.”

“I see.” She was distracted by her boot getting caught on something in the water, and she struggled to pull it free while keeping her foot covered.

Silence fell between them, except for Esteban’s soft whining.  

She talked to her cat often enough that the concept of talking to an animal didn’t bother her; she loved animals, after all, even if she hadn’t met Esteban.  Yet.  She wondered for a moment if she would-if she made it out of this alive, if Vincent considered this more than...a fleeting moment.

She wished desperately to be there to calm the pug down, wished that it was only a single soul in need of help, and not the entirety of Paris.

“I can talk to him but only if I’m off speakerphone.”

“No.” His tone was perhaps a bit harsher than necessary, as if he was scolding a small child over the finality of a pointless argument.

“Vincent…” she sighed.  God, this was embarrassing.

“He’ll lick my phone, Ms. (l/n).  And I’m not interested in cleaning it at the moment.”

“Just don’t think less of me for talking to an animal like a person.”

“Why would I do that?” Vincent sounded genuinely confused, as if he hadn’t considered doing such a thing to begin with.  

She caught sight of the museum ahead,  _ finally _ .  She would rather stay on the phone with Vincent but the city needed saving, and only Kat’s own research would do the trick.  She drew in a deep breath as she found a spot on what was once a sidewalk, resting against a building for a moment.

“Esteban, it’s going to be okay,” she said as she heard the whining pick up again.  She spoke in a soft, reassuring tone.  “I know it’s scary right now, but I’m going to stop whoever did this.”  She heard a huff, Esteban snorting in reply before letting out a single whine.  “It might take time to get rid of the water, but you’ll have your city back to normal soon.  Promise.”

A snort again, a low whine, and then silence.  She heard slight background noise as Vincent adjusted the phone.

“How is he now?”

“Calmer and resigned; he’s hardly thrilled his afternoon out was ruined.”

“I think it’s safe to say that’s the entire city.”  She shifted her stance, looking down at her waterlogged boots.  The museum wasn’t that far at this point and she decided to start moving again; the sooner she made it to Sarah, the sooner she could get to saving the city.  “I fail to see what anyone gains by flooding the city, quite frankly.”

“Perhaps it’s not destroying the city itself but forcing the Knights to expose themselves.” Vincent mused, his tone indicating he was thinking of all of the possible reasons for such baseless destruction of his home.  “There’s anger, not just with Paris, but with the Knights in particular…they didn’t have to be involved, yet they’re at the center…”

He trailed off, clearly lost in thought.  She finished her journey to the museum in silence, the water gaining a slight current in this area from the higher surge of water.

“It’s personal.” She said, reaching the door and heading inside.  “Someone feels wronged and wants to destroy other people’s happiness.”

“It certainly seems that way.”

_ Oh, that…insufferable…That’s exactly how he sounded after he solved the riddle!  He’s known for  _ years  _ something like this would happen and he doesn’t even give a hint? _

“You’re smirking, I know you are.  You’ve figured it out.”

“The rest is up to you, ma chérie.” He paused, as if hesitating to end the call, and his playful tone dropped back into its usual seriousness.  “(F/n)?”

“Yes, Vincent?” Her eyes were scanning everywhere for Sarah as she walked down the gallery, dodging art movers and frantic employees trying to secure pieces.

“Be careful.”

“Aren’t I always?” She replied, perhaps too playfully, perhaps slightly more flirtatiously than the situation called for.

“I’m not dignifying that with an answer,” she heard a touch of humor in his voice, buried under the slight annoyance of her being so flippant with her life.  

_ How touching, Vincent.  To think you care… _

“It’s just odd to hear, coming from you.”

“I  _ do  _ still owe you dinner, after all, don’t I?  Probably a fair bit of wine too, after the weeks of trouble you’ve gone through. Dinner alone sounds rather boring.”

Her stomach flipped and she halted in her search for Sarah, her eyes finding the line between a frame and the wall suddenly very interesting.  Of all times to bring up her quip about kissing her without following up on romantic gestures?  Was he seriously flirting with her, now, of all times?!

“Well, we can’t have that. You’re dangerous when you’re bored.”

“I’m always dangerous.”

“Yet you warn me about other dangerous people.”

“As a courtesy.”

Her ears perked at the sound of Sarah’s voice in the distance, further down the gallery.

“I’ll leave the details to you, then.” She said, catching herself smiling a little, despite the bleak circumstances.

He hummed in approval, and seemed as if he wanted to say something else, but quickly digressed.  “I believe you have a city to save?”

“I’ll let you know what I find.”

“Please do.”

There was an air of hesitation again, as if both of them had something else they wanted to say, but the line went dead before she could ask anything.  

_ Yes, I think it’s safe to say my relationship with Vincent has certainly...evolved. _ She thought, putting her phone away in her back pocket.

Time to get Sarah’s cooperation…

* * *

She took a picture of Kat’s map and then  examined the physical copy.  This…this was exactly what she needed.

_Why wasn’t this in the file Alia showed me?!_ She wondered.   _Could have saved myself a lot of trouble...what if_ _Kat was double-crossing someone..._

Sarah was engrossed in something else in the file.  While her attention was elsewhere, she sent a text to Vincent with the picture attached, simply stating “Will be heading into the catacombs”.  

She watched a response bubble with an ellipse pop up before it disappeared.

When she checked her phone a final time before heading underground, she only had one text:  _ It would be a shame for my reservations to go to waste.  Wear something that would make Raphael jealous. _  The following line gave her a date, time, and location.  

_ Wouldn’t dream of missing it _ , she thought as she climbed down the metal access ladder after Sarah, down to the underground river.


End file.
